Debriefing

According to Gass and Stevens (2007), debriefing is the process where “the facilitator guides clients' learning in a supportive role to help the group discover their own learning through goal setting, questions and answers, and guided reflection after each adventure activity and the total experience” (p. 104). Debriefing will typically occur in a group setting with the use of verbal discussion, but there are also nonverbal reflection methods that can be used (Gass & Stevens, 2007). Furthermore, a debriefing requires a facilitator to ask open-ended questions aimed at eliciting varying responses rather than providing students with an evaluation of critical events that happened (Berry, 2011). Gass and Stevens (2007) stated the following:

A group discussion in learning by reflection often includes questions modeled after the following: What happened? What impact did this have? How did that make you feel? What did you learn from this? What parts of this activity were similar to other areas of your life (or school or workplace)? Given this information, what can you do differently in the future? (p. 104)

Overall, debriefing plays a crucial role in the adventure education process and student learning. Schary et al. (2018) stated the following:

Perhaps the most important component to the CC [Challenge Course] session, the debrief attempts to guide individuals toward unique insights related to the CC activity that can affect their lives beyond the CC. Thus, without a proper debrief, a CC program may lose its ability to give the participants a complete experiential education. (p. 239)

Below is a list of various tools that, when used creatively, can be effective tools to facilitate a debriefing.

• Verbal Questioning: ask various questions that address what happened, what they learned, and how they can apply that learning to life outside of PE

• Debriefing Wheelies: cards with questions to help reflect and learn from an experience

o   Purchasable on Amazon

• Paint Sample Cards: students grab a color card that describes how they felt during the activity

o   Free at hardware stores

• Stack of Words: students grab a word and explain why they chose that word as well as how it relates to the activity

• Stack of Pictures: students grab a picture and explain why they chose that picture as well as how it relates to the activity

• Emojis: students choose an emoji that describes how they felt during the activity and the students explain why they felt that way

• Drawings: students draw an emotion of how they felt during the activity and explain why they felt that way

• Rose/Thorn/Bud:

o   Rose: something they liked

o   Thorn: something they didn’t like

o   Bud: something they learned and can use in the future

• Dice Debrief: there are 6 questions aligned with each number on a die, and students will answer the question that aligns with the number the die lands on

• Debriefing Ball: pass around a ball that has debriefing questions on it

• Five finger Contract: ask specific questions that relate to each part of the five-finger contract (see the full value contract tab for more information on the five-finger contract) 

References

Berry, M. (2011). Learning and teaching in adventure education. In M. Berry & C. Hodgson (Eds.), Adventure education: An introduction (pp. 63-83). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203856758

Gass, M., & Stevens, C. (2007). Facilitating the adventure process. In D. Prouty, J. Panicucci, & R. Collinson (Eds.), Adventure education: Theory and application (pp. 101-

123). Human Kinetics.

Schary, D., Jenny, S., Morrow, G., & Wozniak, T. (2018). Bringing challenge course activities into the classroom: Pedagogical strengths, obstacles, and recommendations.

Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 10(3), 238-252. https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2018-V10-I3-8533